Scalloped Scrapbooking Tag

Tags are very useful to write your sentiment onto your scrapped pages, for journaling, even for writing special dates such as anniversaries, birthdays, etc, with a remark about what makes them special. This is a lovely tag which you can also modify in many ways, by using textures, patterns, and in many other ways.
Note- If you're not a digital scrapbooker, but do regular scrapping, you can still use this pretty tag. Follow the tutorial, and then use your cutter to get your tag and add it to your next project!

This tutorial assumes that you have Inkscape installed on your computer.
Even though, this tutorial is very simple, if you have never used the software before, maybe you could make some of our previous tutorials, just to get your feet wet and understand the software a little bit before tackling this one. Or you could watch some free videos on Inkscape, there are many online.

Let's make our tag:
►Fire up Inkscape.
►Click o n the Ellipse tool and while you hold the Ctrl key down, make a circle, pick any color you like.
At the bottom of the page, right-click on Stroke, and when the little menu pops up, choose Edit Stroke, then click on the X to take out the stroke line around the circle that you just made.
►Now select the Text tool. Make a Capital "O" using the font Rockwell Extra Bold, and enlarge it a little bit. Make it the same color as the circle you made before. Click on it, and draf it to the circle, and position it in such a way that that about half of the "O" is lost in the circle and the other half protudes like a scallop out of the circle. While it is selected, go to Object and then click on Select to Top.
►While the "O" is still selected, press down on the Shift key and while holding it down, click on the circle to select it as well. Now go to Path, Object to Path. Then go to Extensions, Generate From Path, Pattern Along a Path.
►When the menu opens, choose as follows:
Copies of the Pattern: Repeated, Stretched
Deformation type: Snake
And all the other settings must be 0.0, except for the first one, Space between Copies, which you set to 0.5.
Hit Apply.
►Now you have a scalloped circle. Close the little menu.
►With your mouse, select the circle and all the "Os" around it, and go to Object, Group. Now you can move the circle without it falling apart on you.
►While it is selected, duplicate it 3 times so that you have 4 of them.
►Choose the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle.
►Choose to make it White and make the stroke color the exact same color of your scalloped circles.
►Give it a stroke of about 40.00 (in other words, make it a bit thick)
►Position the scalloped circles the way you see them in the photos.
►Then select everything and go to Object group. Save as a PNG.
Note- Remember, for the effect to work right, you must have both the circles, the scalloped edges and the border or stroke of the box that forms the tag, all of the same color.
I chose a peach, the color is f9ac62, just in case you want to make it the same color.
If you would like to give it a drop shadow effect, just copy your tag with the scallops before you save it, turn everything black, give it a little blur and position it on top of your tag and send it to the back.
Or you can just drag the other on top of it, whichever you prefer. Save as a PNG.

Encouraging Promises!

Playing with Ovals Part 4- Let's Make a Bow!

We're discovering how many embellishments can be designed just by learning to work with ovals! This time we will be baking a simple bow for the corners of photos.
►To start, fire up Inkscape.
►Select the Circle or Ellipse tool and while holding down the Ctrl key, create a circle by stroking with your mouse, give it an oval shape. Fill it with any color you prefer.
►Go to the bottom of the page and right-click on the Stroke and when the little menu opens, choose Edit Stroke and click on the X to take the stroke out. Select it by clicking the arrow a the top of sidebar, then copy it. Paste. Click on the copy and reduce its size.
►Drag it inside the previously made circle. Make sure that the smaller oval reaches almost to the edge of the original one. Then go to Object, Align and Distribute and Align the smaller Oval vertically and horizontally, so that it will really be in the middle of the previous oval.
►Now click on the original oval and while holding the shift key down, click on the smaller oval to select both of them, go to Path, and select Difference. You used the smaller oval to cut out the center of the larger oval and make it transparent. Copy the oval and paste the copy.
►Click on the first oval to select it and then right-click on it, so that the rotation arrows will appear. Rotate it a little bit sot hat it will have the position of the fold of a bow. Repeat with the second oval.
►With your mouse, drag the ovals and place them one next to another, to begin for form the shape of a bow.
►While the first oval is selected, click on the Edit Paths and Nodes tool (the one directly below the Arrow or Select tool) and some nodes will appear on the oval. Pull on the nodes that are on the sides of the oval to give the oval more of the shape of a bow loop. Repeat with the opposite oval.
►Select the Create Rectangles and Squares tool, and make a small narrow rectangle for the center of the bow. Give it the same color that you chose for the loops of the bow.
►Drag it to the center between the two loops of your bow.
Now, make two small, narrow rectangles, color them yellow or white, depending on the color you chose for your bow. Go to the Fill and Stroke menu and give them a blur of 34.9 and an opacity of 83.7 (all you have to do is to select the little square and while it is selected, move the levers in the Fill and Stroke menu.) Drag the "shine" rectangles to the top and the bottom of the center of your bow.
►With the Ellipse tool make a small circle. Take out the stroke, and make it a little lighter than the color you chose for your bow. Click on it to select it and with the mouse, draw it down to flatten it into almost a line.
►Click on it and then go to the Edit Paths and Nodes tool and once the nodes appear, manipulate the object until it is almost like a crescent shape.
►Give it a Blur of 24.1 and an Opacity of 91.3 and copy it. Now drag it into the lower portion of the first loop of your bow and position it where you like it best. Do the same with the copy, positioning it on the opposite loop of the bow.
►Select all of the bow with your mouse and go to Object, Group.
►Finally, copy your bow, paste. Drag to one side, change the color to a darker shade. In my case, I gave it a maroon color. Now go to the Fill and Stroke menu and give it a blur of 7.1, which will make it look like a drop shadow. Now drag it and position it on top of your bow.
► On the top of the page, click on the 8th button, to lower selection to bottom. Now the darker, blurred bow is at the bottom of your bow and appears like a drop shadow.
You're done! You can play with this until you have a bow that you can add to your nest digi scrapping project. You can add a texture or a gradient, you can work with it until you really like it.

Encouraging Promises!

Playing With Ovals Part 3---Making a Flower Element

This tutorial assumes that you have Inkscape and Gimp installed on your computer and that you have at least the basic understanding of how theset programs work. (Take a look at some of our previous tutorials and play around a bit until you understand the software enough to feel comfortable in doing this.)
I will not be making this very difficult, but when you are done with this tutorial, I suggest that you play around with the Spiro and make many other flourishes to get them down pat, so that the next time you want to use one, you can make your own without any difficulty.

►Fire up Inkscape.
►Select the Circle or Ellipse tool and while holding down the Ctrl key, create a circle by stroking with your mouse, give it an oval shape. Fill it with any color you prefer.
►Go to the bottom of the page and right-click on the Stroke and when the little menu opens, choose Edit Stroke and click on the X to take the stroke out. Select it by clicking the arrow a the top of sidebar, then copy it. Paste. Click on the copy and reduce its size.
►Drag it inside the previously made circle. Make sure that the smaller oval reaches almost to the edge of the original one. Then go to Object, Align and Distribute and Align the smaller Oval vertically and horizontally, so that it will really be in the middle of the previous oval.
►Now click on the original oval and while holding the shift key down, click on the smaller oval to select both of them, go to Path, and select Difference. You used the smaller oval to cut out the center of the larger oval and make it transparent. Copy and paste it or duplicate it until you have a total of 4 petals. Set aside.
►Holding down the Ctrl key, make another oval. Take out the Stroke as before. This one we will leave as is. Copy and paste or duplicate until you have completed 6 petals. Now, place the first one where you will begin your flower, by dragging it into position with your mouse, making sure you do not enlarge or deform it. ►Drag the second one and place it next to the first, right-click on it so that the rotation arrows will appear, rotate it a bit so that it fill the natural place of the second petal of a flower.
►Continue working that way until you have positioned the six petals around an empty imaginary center.
Let's change the color of the flower petals. Click on the first petal and with it selected, go to the bottom of the page and right-click in the Fill, when the little menu opens, choose Edit Fill. In the RGBA column below the color wheel, enter the following number: ff5555f8
►Now click on each flower petal and change it to that color. Now go to Gradient and choose a Linear Gradient. Stroke with your mouse across the first petal, from the outside of the petal towards its center. You will notice that the gradient starts pink and finishes white (or transparent) you will also notice that where the transparent portion ends, there is a blue little node. While that is selected, from the palette at the bottom of the page, choose a warm brown and click on it. The white part will become brown fading into the pink.
►Click on each petal, one at a time to select it, and repeat this gradient with every petal. I like to do some in one direction, others in another, it seems to me, they look more natural, but you follow your own taste. Once you're done, stroke over the whole group of petals and go to Object, Group. Move them to the side for now.
►Change the hollow petals to the color #f9ac62, the same way as you did for the full petals. Drag first two hollow petals with your mouse and place them end to end to one another. Drag the other two and place them on the sides. Stroke with your mouse to select them all and go to Object, Group. Drag the hollow petals and place them on top of the first set of petals.
►Now, holding down the Ctrl key, make a circle. Take out the Stroke as before. Choose the pallet MatLab Jet (72) by clicking on the arrow at the end of the pallet at the bottom of the page. Pick a warm orange and fill your circle with it. Drag the circle to the center of your flower. Make another circle. While you have it selected, go to Path, Object to Path.
►Now click on the Nodes tool, right underneath the Arrow tool and manipulate the nodes to make a curve. From the palette, choose a yellow, then go to the Fill and Stroke dialog box and give it a blur that you like. Position it at the top inside your circle.
►Copy the blur and flip it by clicking it at the bottom at the top of the page that flips objects. Then give it a larger blur and tuck it a bit inward so that it will be slightly smaller than the upper shine. Stroke with your mouse to select it all and Group it. Now copy it and turn your copy a warm yellow. Holding down the Ctrl key, enlarge it a little bit so that it will be slightly bigger than the orange center. You will have to eyeball it to your personal taste. Place your yellow copy at the center of the flower and then place the orange one on top. Select your whole flower with the mouse and go to Object, Group.
Save it as a PNG file.

►Optional-
If you want to, make a copy of your flower element, turn it black, blur it, drab it to place it on top of your flower, now, to put it behind the original flower, by click on the button at the top of the page that sends an object to the back. That way, it will look like it has a drop shadow.

►Now, if you would like a fancier flower, you can take it to Gimp. Once opened in Gimp, choose Filters, Light and Shadow, Supernova. Change the color of the Supernova to a light, almost white pink, and place the Supernova a little bit off the center of the flower, and do the effect. Save as a PNG file.

Encouraging Promises!